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| Hiking | 5.10 Miles |
1,280 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.10 Miles | 2 Hrs 34 Mns | | 1.99 mph |
| 1,280 ft AEG | | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Just out on a rattlesnake hunt today... or so I told Tracey, you know, just so she'd give me that  look.
I began by following actual wild horse trails into and across various washes until meeting the Scorpion Trail. I followed it to Wild Horse Trail where I met a group of mountain bikers, who said they saw a rattlesnake a few minutes earlier along Wild Horse. Just then another biker rode up so say he just saw a rattlesnake, very likely the same one the group mentioned.
So I set off along the trail. After going much farther than described and finding no trace of a snake, I figured with so many bikers on the trail the rattlesnakes would have left for less busy locales, and I resumed my off-trail wandering.
Hmmm... while I'm nearby, maybe I'll pick up the water I cached when I was in illegal trail building observation mode a few months back. Only a few problems with that... I didn't have the coordinates loaded and with the by-now very dry foliage, everything looked much different than when I cached it. So although I'm sure I was within a hundred yards, I could not find it. I guess I'll have to return when I have the exact coordinates.
Although by now it's warm enough rattlers would be avoiding direct sun, I thought I'd head back along as many soft-sandy washes as I could. And within a minute or so of doing so, something looked slightly off, and there it was... in the center of the wash, tightly coiled at the edge of the shade.
As I approached it, eerily there was no rattle, no movement, not even a hint of tongue to show concern. Even knowing it was alive, I still wondered to myself if it actually was.
I set my boot within a foot... nothing.
I touched the edge of the coil with a snake hook... nothing.
I touched the side of its head... its tongue flickered once... then absolutely nothing.
Not willing to break the peace just for what would likely be a very short video, I let well enough alone and moved on. And that would be all for today.
One last note... at 569.6 miles, my Redhead Trekker III boots bit the dust... at least the right boot did, with a hole right through the sole. Luckily I added an extra insole just before the hike. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
